DFG to Host Public Meeting on California Salmon Stocks and Fisheries

DFG to Host Public Meeting on California Salmon Stocks and Fisheries

by Dan Bacher

Every year the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) holds a meeting regarding California salmon stocks and the upcoming salmon fishing seasons - and this year is no exception.

The DFG's 2011 Salmon Information Meeting (DFG) will be held March 1 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Sonoma County Water Agency Building located at 404 Aviation Boulevard in Santa Rosa. The public is invited to testify at this meeting about California salmon populations and the 2011 ocean and river salmon fisheries.

"The rebound of Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon in 2010 has sparked intense public interest in the possibility of less restrictive salmon seasons this year," according to a DFG news release. "Preliminary data indicates approximately 125,300 adult fall Chinook and 27,500 jacks (two-year-old fish) returned to the Sacramento River Basin."

In 2009, the returns of adult Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon were an all time low of approximately 39,500 and all salmon seasons were closed. Limited recreational and commercial fishing seasons were allowed in 2010.

"Salmon biologists and managers will provide the latest information on California salmon escapement in 2010 and the outlook for ocean and river Chinook fisheries in the coming 2011 season, including the possibility of an April 2 opener for sport fisheries south of Horse Mountain," according to the DFG. "They will discuss data that shows, for the first time since 2003, that Sacramento and Klamath rivers fall Chinook salmon stocks both exceeded their minimum spawner goals of 122,000 and 35,000 adults, respectively. In 2010, more than 37,200 Klamath River fall Chinook adults returned to spawn in natural areas."

The 125,300 Sacramento River adult fall chinooks included 43,360 fish that returned to the hatcheries and 89,654 salmon that spawned in Central Valley rivers. The 27,500 jacks included 15,482 hatchery fish and 14,699 river spawners.

This is an improvement over the 2009 and 2010 record low years, but still nowhere near normal for the river that has historically been the driver for West Coast salmon fisheries. The 10 year (1997-2006) pre-disaster return averaged roughly 475,000 fish. A total 798,770 adult chinooks, including 94,223 hatchery fish and 704,547 natural spawners, returned to the Sacramento River and its tributaries to spawn in 2002.

A California salmon management panel will hear public comment and testimony. The panel is comprised of individuals directly involved in the upcoming Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meetings in March and April. The panel includes members of the PFMC, Salmon Technical Team and Salmon Advisory Subgroup.

The input from this meeting will help California representatives negotiate a broad range of season alternatives at the PFMC meeting March 5-10 in Vancouver, Wash. Salmon fishing seasons are developed through a collaborative regulatory process involving the Fish and Game Commission, the PFMC and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

More information on west coast salmon returns and ocean fisheries can be found online in the PFMC’s “Review of the 2010 Ocean Salmon Fisheries” at http://www.pcouncil.org/salmon/stock-assessment-and-fishery-evaluation-safe-documents/review-of-2010-ocean-salmon-fisheries/.

The March 1 meeting marks the beginning of a two month long management process used to establish ocean and river salmon seasons. A list of additional meetings to be held throughout the season setting process can be found on DFG’s website at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/oceansalmon.asp

For more information, call James Phillips, Marine Biologist, (707) 576-2375, or Harry Morse, DFG Communications, (916) 322-8962.

While state and federal government representatives claim that the unprecedented Central Valley salmon collapse resulted from "poor ocean conditions," representatives of fishing groups, Indian Tribes and environmental organizations point to record water exports out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and decreasing water quality as the key factors behind the collapse.

Meanwhile, the Brown and Obama administrations are pushing for the construction of an environmentally destructive and enormously costly peripheral canal to export more Delta water to corporate agribusiness and southern California. Delta advocates fear that the construction of a peripheral canal/tunnel will lead to the extinction of Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River chinook salmon, Delta smelt, longfin smelt, green sturgeon, Sacramento splittail and other species.